Sep 22, 2020
In this episode of the Image File, I talk with the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the year 2020, Nicolas Lefaudeux. His award winning tilt-perspective image of the Andromeda Galaxy will no doubt make the rest of us wonder, “why didn’t I think of that?”
Nicolas is a French optical engineer and amateur astrophotographer who built his own telescope as a teenager and devised a simple, yet effective, tilt adapter that allowed him to capture his winning image.
We discussed the making of that image and the challenge of astrophotography, and I was inspired by his message about dark skies, something rapidly disappearing in Europe. Lefaudeux himself is just outside of Paris, in a Bortle 5 zone. Dark skies for him requires travel. I’m amazed that he’s able to capture deep sky images at all from his location.
I spoke to Nicolas from his home in France. As usual, there are plenty of relevant links to follow along with below.
SHOW NOTES:
Award announcement with winning image
Lefaudeux’s image of Venus next to Sun